Appointment Requirements for Residents and Fellows

Appointment Requirements

Full or limited license from the Board of Registration in Medicine of Massachusetts

Current medical certifications

Visa if from outside the United States

Passing the necessary medical examinations

Adherence to all our policies

All Baystate Medical Center training programs comply with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) institutional and program requirements for resident eligibility and selection.

Pre-Employment Verifications and Examinations

When you’re matched or accepted into a residency or fellowship at Baystate Medical Center, your employment offer is contingent on satisfactory findings from all pre-employment verifications and examinations. These include:

Criminal background file review

Driving record evaluation

Medical license verification and credentialing review (if you have held a medical license previously)

Pre-employment examinations

Physical exam

Confirmation or administration of required immunizations

Urine drug test

Please note: If your drug test is positive, we immediately withdraw your employment offer. You will be ineligible to apply for employment with any Baystate Health corporation for 12 months.

Full or Limited Medical Licensure in Massachusetts

Your appointment as a resident or fellow requires full or limited license from the Board of Registration in Medicine of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We pay for the limited license.

As part of your application for a limited license, the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine asks you to answer questions found in the Sample Resident and Fellow Contract.

If you answer “Yes” to any of the questions, the Board of Registration in Medicine will require supplemental information, such as information from your medical school or the program director of a previous training program.

Effective January 2, 2014, physicians applying for an initial limited license are required to pass ONE of the following:

Current Medical Certifications

All residents and fellows must have specific certifications that are current at the start of training. If you don’t already have the required certifications, we provide courses for you free of charge just prior to orientation. You may need to take additional certification courses, provided without charge.

Required and Provided Initial Certification Training

Anesthesia residency and fellowships: ACLS

Emergency Medicine residency and fellowships: ACLS, PALS, ATLS

Medicine residency and fellowships: ACLS

Medicine-Pediatrics residency: ACLS, PALS, NRP

Obstetrics-Gynecology residency: ACLS, NRP

Pathology residency and fellowships: BLS

Pediatrics residency: ACLS, PALS, NRP

Pediatric fellowships: ACLS, PALS

Psychiatry residency: ACLS

Radiology residency: ACLS

Surgery residency: ACLS, PALS, ATLS

Minimally Invasive Surgery fellowship: ACLS

ACLS=Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support
ATLS = Advanced Trauma Life Support
BLS=Basic Life Support
NRP=Neonatal Resuscitation Program
PALS=Pediatric Advanced Life Support

Visa Status

If you are a foreign citizen, you must enter the United States on an appropriate visa and maintain appropriate visa status throughout your training. We sponsor residents and fellows on J-1 visas through the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). We do sponsor a few select candidates for H-1B visas.